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Jessie Cooper Clark (Lady Rhodes)
Description
Alternative NameLady Rhodes
Jessie Cooper RhodesDescriptionWife of Sir Robert Heaton Rhodes. Lived at Otahuna from 1895 to 1929.
Jessie was active in early Canterbury social work, and supported the foundation of the Nurse Maude organisation, as she was close friends with Sibylla Emily Maude (1862-1935). She was a former president of the Cholmondeley Children's Home, and the Hospital Lady Visitors Association. She was also a Lady of Grace of the St. John Ambulance Association, and a member of the Victoria League.
Heaton and Jessie 'enjoyed a long and happy marriage, but Jessie's health was always delicate and they had no children. She suffered a mental breakdown in 1909 and withdrew from public life for nearly a decade. In 1917 she accompanied Rhodes to London and with the cheerful companionship of a new maid, Vera Hynes, made a full recovery. Vera returned with them in 1919 and lived at Otahuna as their surrogate daughter'. (Geoffrey W. Rice. 'Rhodes, Robert Heaton', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1996, updated September, 2022. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3r14/rhodes-robert-heaton (accessed 15 February 2023)
First NameJessieMiddle NameCooperLast NameRhodesDate of Birth26 September 1865Place of Birth'Glenara', Bulla, Victoria, AustraliaDate of Death12 October 1929Place of DeathOtahuna Lodge, Tai TapuCause of DeathCerebral HaemorrhageAge at Death64Parents or Next of KinParents: Walter and Annie Clark.Other Biographical InformationMarried Sir Robert Heaton Rhodes on 20 May 1891.
Honeymooned in Japan.
Attended the Coronation of King Edward VII in London in 1902.
Jessie Cooper RhodesDescriptionWife of Sir Robert Heaton Rhodes. Lived at Otahuna from 1895 to 1929.Jessie was active in early Canterbury social work, and supported the foundation of the Nurse Maude organisation, as she was close friends with Sibylla Emily Maude (1862-1935). She was a former president of the Cholmondeley Children's Home, and the Hospital Lady Visitors Association. She was also a Lady of Grace of the St. John Ambulance Association, and a member of the Victoria League.
Heaton and Jessie 'enjoyed a long and happy marriage, but Jessie's health was always delicate and they had no children. She suffered a mental breakdown in 1909 and withdrew from public life for nearly a decade. In 1917 she accompanied Rhodes to London and with the cheerful companionship of a new maid, Vera Hynes, made a full recovery. Vera returned with them in 1919 and lived at Otahuna as their surrogate daughter'. (Geoffrey W. Rice. 'Rhodes, Robert Heaton', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1996, updated September, 2022. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3r14/rhodes-robert-heaton (accessed 15 February 2023)
First NameJessieMiddle NameCooperLast NameRhodesDate of Birth26 September 1865Place of Birth'Glenara', Bulla, Victoria, AustraliaDate of Death12 October 1929Place of DeathOtahuna Lodge, Tai TapuCause of DeathCerebral HaemorrhageAge at Death64Parents or Next of KinParents: Walter and Annie Clark.Other Biographical InformationMarried Sir Robert Heaton Rhodes on 20 May 1891.Honeymooned in Japan.
Attended the Coronation of King Edward VII in London in 1902.
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Source https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/SUNAK19271112.2.176.12
Connections
CollectionTe Ara Ātea Heritage Exhibition: 2023PlaceTai TapuOrganisationOtahuna LodgeMore InformationDictionary of New Zealand Biography of Heaton RhodesImage of Lady RhodesImage of Lady RhodesNewspaper report of Jessie Rhodes' deathJessie Rhodes' headstone at St Pauls Anglican Church, Papanui, Christchurch
PlaceTai TapuOrganisationOtahuna LodgeMore InformationDictionary of New Zealand Biography of Heaton RhodesImage of Lady RhodesImage of Lady RhodesNewspaper report of Jessie Rhodes' deathJessie Rhodes' headstone at St Pauls Anglican Church, Papanui, ChristchurchJessie Cooper Clark (Lady Rhodes). Selwyn Stories, accessed 16/12/2025, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/5188
